The Most Popular Interview Q & A’s
Funny how we know we always get the same questions in interviews, but how many of us actually anticipate the questions and prepare stock answers? By anticipating these simple but very engaging questions you will not only come across and confident but professional and prepared.
What are your weaknesses?
This is not the time to be telling your future employer what’s wrong with you, but an opportunity to sell yourself. By turning this potentially negative question into a positive you will protect yourself confidently and positively therefore making potential weakness into strengths.
Being organized wasn’t really one of my strong points, but implemented a time management system that improved me to organize my day and ensured that priority tasks were completed. That way I found that I had more time in each day instead of less and I was more productive as a result.
How do you Handle Stress and Pressure?
This again is a typical interview question, asked to get a sense of how you handle work load and pressure in the job. Examples of good responses include:
I actually work better under pressure, I find it motivates me. By prioritizing my responsibilities so that I have a clear idea of what needs to be done and how in this way being organized helps to minimize potential pressure
Tell Me about Yourself
This is a great one, the most common question, often thrown in at the beginning of an interview and it never fails to unnerve the candidate. No one feels comfortable talking about themselves, but this is your golden opportunity to sell yourself. Here what they really want to see is how you articulate yourself. Interviewers use this moment in the interview to study your body language and posture, your level of eye contact. During this moment they can really get a sense of who you are so be prepared for this moment in the spot light. Do not “wing it’ prepare in advance, they do not want chapter and verse or your life story but a few confident examples that describe who you really are that will set the tone for the rest of the interview.
I have 100 applicants for this position -Why Should I hire you?
Bam! You know the question is coming but are you ready for it? If you cannot answer this question then exactly why are you even in the interview? “Because I am good” just won’t cut it I am afraid. Think about this question carefully and prepare the answer in advance. Think about your unique selling points, your strengths, all the skills and experience that you have that will set you apart from the rest. Often recruiters try a different way to ask the same question such as “If I asked your previous employers or your previous staff what they thought of you what would they say about you?”
What motivates you?
Here there isn’t a right or a wrong answer for this one but what the recruiter is trying to understand here with this question is what would be key to you being successful in the job you are being interviewed for. Again anticipate this question and prepare for it. Consider what really does motivate you and give some examples during your interview. Emphasize your enthusiasm when answering this question:
I was responsible for several large scale projects where I directed development teams and implemented new structured processes. The teams achieved 100% productivity and reached their deadlines. I was highly motivated by the challenge of completing the project ahead of schedule and in budget and by managing the teams who achieved their goals and targets.
What are your salary expectations?
Before you start talking about pay and negotiating salary with a prospective employer you need to find out what the industry standard for pay is for that role and consider also more importantly your worth and value to your prospective employer. In order to do this you will need to spend some time researching salaries so that you are prepared to get what you are worth, not to mention a job offer that is reasonable and realistic.